Buffy the Vampire Slayer

FADE IN:

EXT. MEDIEVAL VILLAGE - JUST BEFORE SUNSET

We see an Italian village at the height of the plague. Funeral

processions, decrepit houses with their windows boarded up...

the stench of death all around.

TITLE:
EUROPE. THE DARK AGES

Through the filth a KNIGHT walks his horse. He is weary but

not so dingy as his surrounding; a stranger in these parts.

He comes to an inn, where a boy takes his horse round back.

He enters the inn.

INT. INN - SAME TIME

The inn is dark and almost empty. A couple of patrons drink

silently at tables. Behind the bar stands a slovenly BARMAID,

dark-haired and lazy. She scratches at her shoulder, on which

we see a birthmark. The knight approaches the bar, throws

money down.

KNIGHT:

A tankard of ale, wench.

The barmaid pours him a cup of ale. He drinks deep, stands a

moment.

KNIGHT:

(continuing)

Some plague we're having, huh?

CUT TO:

INT. INN - UPSTAIRS HALL/BEDROOM - NIGHT

The barmaid leads the knight, by candlelight, upstairs to his

room. The door opens inward. The knight stands in the doorway,

places a hand on the barmaid's hip. She pauses a moment, then

breaks free of his grasp, starts down the hall. He laughs a

bit, resignedly, and closes the door.

A VAMPIRE stands behind it. Not two feet from the knight,

grinning at him. His eyes are skull-hollow and dancing in his

head, his bloody smile full with teeth. His skin is gray, and

peeling. The knight turns slowly and sees him.

KNIGHT:

Oh, my god...

The vampire licks his lips.

He is on the knight in a second, pushing him backwards into

the middle of the small room. The knight struggles but is no

match for the vampire, who buries his face in the knight's

neck. The knight screams.

ANGLE ON DOOR:

It suddenly flies open, the lock shattered.

The vampire turns like a frightened animal. In the doorway

stands the barmaid, a SLAYER. In her hand is a wooden stake.

The vampire drops the knight, who crabs backwards into a corner.

The Slayer and the vampire come at each other. The Slayer

spins and kicks; the vampire flies back. Snarling, he comes

back at the slayer. They struggle; he slips free and is out

the door.

For a moment, the Slayer remains still, crouched on the floor.

The knight watches her. She seems to be making a decision --

perhaps even knows what is going to happen.

She runs at the window.

CUT TO:

EXT. IN FRONT OF THE INN - SAME TIME

The vampire comes running out the front door. Before he is a

few feet from the front of the inn, the Slayer SMASHES through

the upstairs window and lands on him. They both hit the ground,

and she plants the stake right in his heart.

After a moment, we hear a voice:

AMILYN (O.S.)

The lord giveth, and the lord taketh

away. Ashes, ashes...

She looks up.

AMILYN:

(continuing)

... All fall down

There are ten or more vampires walking slowly toward her in

the otherwise deserted street. At the front, maybe ten feet

away, is AMILYN.

Amilyn is a grinning jackal, a servant to the Vampire-King.

His garb is a rotted approximation of a courtier's livery. He

ambles toward the Slayer, giggling, as she stands.

Behind her is LOTHOS, the Vampire-King. His skin is deep white,

and smooth. He wears a long coat -- his dress is not of any

era. He is practically upon her before he speaks.

LOTHOS:

You must forgive Amilyn. He tends

to drool before supper.

She turns. He smiles, almost lovingly.

SLAYER:

Lothos...

LOTHOS:

You people will never learn.

She swings at him but he grabs her arm. Amilyn laughs

obnoxiously. Lothos grabs the back of the Slayer's head, brings

her to him in a loving embrace.

LOTHOS:

(continuing)

We can't be stopped. This is our

world now.

He pulls her head back swiftly, snapping her spine as her head

hits the back of her legs. Lightning flashes.

CUT TO:

INT. ENGLISH CASTLE - NIGHT

Lightning flashes outside the window. It is torrenting rain.

An old MAN speaks to a hysterical GIRL of sixteen or so. They

are both obviously noble of birth.

GIRL:

I can't!

MAN:

You know you must. There is only

one. Now you are that one. It is

time.

GIRL:

Why? Why me?

MAN:

She has died. You are the next to

be called. Why do you think you

were sent to me? Trained as you

were? You bear the mark.

He pulls aside her blouse to reveal a birthmark on her shoulder,

identical to the barmaid's.

MAN:

(continuing)

The mark of the Coven.

GIRL:

I don't understand.

MAN:

Ever since Adam and Eve first left

the garden, he followed: the serpent.

Satan. He sends his legion in the

shape of men, to feed on us, to

breed his Hell on our earth. They

are a plague upon us.

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